Hillary the easy favorite for 2016 Dem nomination.. so now what?

Reading 2016 news coverage at this point is like reading press releases from Hillary Clinton’s office everyday. Every major media source has polling indicating that Clinton would easily take the nomination and, if the election was held today, would beat most major Republicans.

I’m wondering whether this type of coverage is overall bad for the Republican and whether it tends to “turn off” voters who will be lured into believing the nomination is sewn up so why bother supporting someone else?

One only has to look back to 2008 when Hillary Clinton was the shoe-in for the Democratic nomination to see an example of the underdog candidate rising out of nowhere to challenge and defeat the juggernaut Clinton machine. The lesson, in my opinion, is that the media enjoys perpetuating the most often repeated narrative lest they appear to be out of step on the state of coverage. I’ve tried to avoid the meaningless 2016 chatter right now since it is so far off and 75% of it consists of Clinton polls and the other 25% consists of talk about Chris Christie or Donald Trump.

How about some suggestions for Presidential election topics and news stories outside the weekly polls? Got anything juicy on the Electoral College?

Nate Ashworth is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Election Central. He's been blogging elections and politics for almost a decade. He started covering the 2008 Presidential Election which turned into a full-time political blog in 2012 and 2016.

Rand has time to redeem himself. The drone filibuster was a good start. Here’s a question for you: we have a law against assassinating foreign leaders. Why is it different to use an unmanned drone than a sniper?? I mean, you can argue that killing “evil doers” is a good idea, but I still think it’s an illegal one.

Hillary has paid double dues, and she is competent, qualified–and I hope ready to go. I am reminded of Abraham Lincoln who asked if this nation so dedicated and conceived can long endure. With the crackpots, self-interest folk, undisciplined ‘juvenile minded adults,’ self and others haters, if wonder how long such a nation can endure

The Republican Establishment has slashed their own throats by destroying the Grassroots. Mitt Romney’s Campaign showed us all what a Presidential Candidacy looks like with absolutely ZERO Grassroots support. BIG Stadium with a lot of Empty Seats. LOL. They will never learn until they toss the Nazi Neocon Agenda to the curb with the rest of the trash. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity along with it.

Hannity reminds me of a little yorkie barking at a person’s ankles as they walk by. Totally annoying 🙁 He’s nothing but a nonsensical, maniacal little man who takes calls on air from minorities, only to make fun of them under his breath. Sicko!

It’s a real shame that people who listen to Hannity truly believe that this CLOWN is an actual Conservative. He’s really a Neo-Conservative. Neo-Conservatives have ZERO RESPECT for the United States Constitution (except for the parts that they want to proclaim as their own) . They have no problem with sending our young people to DIE or to be maimed in a war WITHOUT a “Constitutional Declaration” of War from the “We-The-People” (Our Congressional Representatives). They truly despise Libertarians who preach “Limited Government”. They KNOW we are right! Instead, they hold-up this “Smaller Government” Mantle, while increasing BIG GOVERNMENT to “Meddle and Intervene” by expanding our Military presence all over the world. DEBT, DEBT and MORE DEBT! They’re just as bad as the Socialist Democrats!

No matter who the GOP commissions to run, they will lose. The “Establishment” Neocons have destroyed the Republican Party for decades to come. When it’s war after war after war after war after war – people become pretty sick and tired of seeing our young American soldiers names scroll across the screen on every Sunday Night Newscast. Only the “Stupid” believe there is an actual war on terror, especially when our own government sponsors terror all around the world.

Back on topic, the American public has a short attention span–what’s (who’s) up today is down tomorrow. And one of the reasons why America keeps coming back is, we are ALWAYS dissatisfied–with everything.

Liberals have three years to decide Hillary is another “Humphrey.” They’ll be looking for an exciting NEW face, and I can’t imagine whom that might be. The bench is empty. And if they can’t come up with someone, at least to get some excitement into the Dem primaries, whoever the GOP picks will win in a walk.

The GOP “crisis” is just a media storyline in a slow-news year. Total nonsense. The party still owns most of the governors and legislatures, the House, the Supreme Court, and the Senate looks more and more vulnerable as Dems continue to retire and die. Christie can now replace a Dem senator with a Republican. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the demise of the GOP has been greatly exaggerated.

Mary: Reminds me of the old Bill Murray movie, Meatballs. He was the counselor at a summer camp of losers. They were supposed to compete in sports against the rich camp across the lake. They knew they were going to lose, but instead of being depressed, they shouted a mantra, “IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER!!” And, of course, being a movie, since they were devoid of fear, they ended up winning the contests.

I believe the Old Guard is in crisis. They gave shelter to the Tea Party and it is kicking them in the face. Although the Teaers only make up 4% of Congress, they posture and talk over people as only practiced bullies can do. This little brigade rails against taxes and yet each one, personally, puts an unearned amount of taxpayer’s money in their own pocket each and every month. The base salary for a member of Congress is $174,000 monthly. All members enjoy a separate piggy bank known as their “allowance.” This funding generally goes to maintaining their offices and building up a legislative entourage. Representatives are allowed to spend more than $900,000 on salaries for up to 18 permanent employees. They get about a quarter-million dollars more for office expenses, including travel, and additional funding for mass constituent mail. Other perks include lifetime pensions and Insurance without copays. All paid courtesy of the taxpayer. If Cruz, Paul, Rand and Rubio would practice what they preach and refuse taxpayer subsidies, it certainly would help to get the national debt down to size.

If the Republicans really want to win in 2016, they will apologize to their step child, Chris Christie, and put him on the ballot.

DT: The gov’t really missed an opportunity. Not too long ago, the British accepted OUR counting method. If we had accepted THEIRS, instead, our debt would only be 13 BILLION:

In British English, a billion used to be equivalent to a million million (i.e. 1,000,000,000,000), while in American English it has always equated to a thousand million (i.e. 1,000,000,000). British English has now adopted the American figure, though, so that a billion equals a thousand million in both varieties of English.

The same sort of change has taken place with the meaning of trillion. In British English, a trillion used to mean a million million million (i.e. 1,000,000,000,000,000,000). Nowadays, it’s generally held to be equivalent to a million million (1,000,000,000,000), as it is in American English.

Perhaps. But it just “galls” me when BIG Government Neocons, like Tess Trueheart, “blabber on” about the mathematics of the National Debt and then they “blame” it on the newly elected Tea Party caucus. These Fox News and MSNBC watching “dolts” don’t understand the numbers and what they even mean. But what’s worse is they don’t even criticize the Political “Pygmies” who put us here in the first place. They just keep voting for the same “stock-pile” of political “piles” – Republicans and Democrats. They are one in the same. The two headed – one party MONSTER who robs people of their freedom, liberty and their wealth.

DT: There was a panel on the radio, talking about the increases in government spending. Suddenly, one guy switched his calibration, and tried to make the defense budget seem relatively smaller by comparing it to GDP. It always amazes me that no one catches these guys and their numbers games. Yeah, compared to the number of water molecules in the oceans, I guess the defense budget would seem small.

The month of May was Iraq’s deadliest month in nearly five years, with more than 1,000 dead – both civilians and security personnel — in a rash of bombings, shootings and other violence. As we read each day of new horrors in Iraq, it becomes more obvious that the US invasion delivered none of the promised peace or stability that proponents of the attack promised.

Millions live in constant fear, refugees do not return home, and the economy is destroyed. The Christian community, some 1.2 million persons before 2003, has been nearly wiped off the Iraqi map. Other minorities have likewise disappeared. Making matters worse, US support for the Syrian rebels next door has drawn the Shi’ite-led Iraqi government into the spreading regional unrest and breathed new life into extremist elements.

The invasion of Iraq opened the door to Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which did not exist beforehand, while simultaneously strengthening the hand of Iran in the region. Were the “experts” who planned for and advocated the US attack really this incompetent?

Ryan Crocker, who was US Ambassador to Iraq from 2007-2009, still speaks of the Iraqi “surge” as a great reconciliation between Sunni and Shi’ite in Iraq. He wrote recently that “[t]hough the United States has withdrawn its troops from Iraq, it retains significant leverage there. Iraqi forces were equipped and trained by Americans, and the country’s leaders need and expect our help.” He seems alarmingly out of touch with reality.

It is clear now that the “surge” and the “Iraqi Awakening” were just myths promoted by those desperate to put a positive spin on the US invasion, which the late General William Odom once called, “the greatest strategic disaster in American history.” Aircraft were loaded with $100 dollar bills to pay each side to temporarily stop killing US troops and each other, but the payoff provided a mere temporary break. Shouldn’t the measure of success of a particular policy be whether it actually produces sustained positive results?

Now we see radical fighters who once shot at US troops in Iraq have spilled into Syria, where they ironically find their cause supported by the US government! Some of these fighters are even greeted by visiting US senators.

The US intervention in Iraq has created ever more problems. That is clear. The foreign policy “experts” who urged the US attack on Iraq now claim that the disaster they created can only be solved with more interventionism! Imagine a medical doctor noting that a particular medication is killing his patient, but to combat the side effect he orders an increase in dosage of the same medicine. Like this doctor, the US foreign policy establishment is guilty of malpractice. And, I might add, this is just what the Fed does with monetary policy.

From Iraq to Libya to Mali to Syria to Afghanistan, US interventions have an unbroken record of making matters far worse. Yet regardless of the disasters produced, for the interventionists a more aggressive US foreign policy is the only policy they offer.

We must learn the appropriate lessons from the disaster of Iraq. We cannot continue to invade countries, install puppet governments, build new nations, create centrally-planned economies, engage in social engineering, and force democracy at the barrel of a gun. The rest of the world is tired of US interventionism and the US taxpayer is tired of footing the bill for US interventionism. It is up to all of us to make it very clear to the foreign policy establishment and the powers that be that we have had enough and will no longer tolerate empire-building. We should be more confident in ourselves and stop acting like an insecure bully.

DT: The good doctor overlooks another important reason why the Iraq invasion was a mistake. Iraq used to be strong and have solid influence in the Middle East. They were a serious counterbalance to the influence of Iran, so there was equilibrium. Now, Iraq is still a shambles, and as a primarily Shi-ite state, they should be expected to eventually align with Iran.

The Iraq War was a grudge match between the Bush family and Saddam Hussein’s family, not about our peoples, or even our national interests. Just like in the 17th and 18th centuries. . .

DT: For a moment stop posturing and slowly reread my post. In no fashion, did I place blame on the Tea Party for creating the national debt. One of their favorite topics is demanding cuts in government subsidies. My point being, the four I spoke of should get their own house in order first, be an example of what needs to be accomplished, before admonishing others. To label another person without cause or knowledge is inexcusable.

Nice try, Tess. I remember when Ron Paul (The Godfather of the Tea Party Movement – until it was hijacked by Sarah Palin and Fox News) offered to take a base salary consummate to what the average American makes per year if elected President. $39,336 per year. Where were you then, Tess? Oh yeah. I remember. You were criticizing Ron Paul for his foreign policy because he said we’re totally broke. ((and BTW Tess – having a National Debt of $16.4 TRILLION pretty much means we’re TOTALLY and ABSOLUTELY broke or “Bankrupt”)).

By blaming one party over another for the accrued National Debt just shows complete naivety. This kind of logic comes from the ever-waging ‘fabricated battle” promoted by the Main Stream Media designed to keep Americans fighting and arguing amongst themselves. (Fox News vs. MSNBC vs. CNN vs. Rush Limbaugh – and so on.)

Listen. The Republican crooks raised the National Debt just as much (if not more) than their Democrat counter-crooks. There is ZERO difference between them on “spending us into oblivion”. Thus, there is NO difference between them at all. They both truly want this country fail. If it isn’t true, then they would all vote to cap spending based upon the amount of revenue they take in via taxes. In other words, there would be a COMPLETE reversal in Policy and not another Debt Ceiling “Circus” that will be coming-to-town in September.

If it wasn’t for the FED “printing and dumping” $85 BILLION a MONTH into the Economy, our Economy and our “way-of-life” would already be in the crapper. The FED claims they are buying “assets”, but on the backs of the American taxpayer. With Interest Rates at 0% (or close to it), the Economy is only “artificially” growing. Do you think 0% Interest to buy a Car – or 3.25% Interest to buy a House is a good thing? (Think it through. Can this go on forever? What will happen when Interest Rates rise – “even just a little”?) I’ll give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don’t count.

Always remember, Tess, with these CLOWNS in Washington (Dems and Reps), the Debt Ceiling NEVER EVER has a Ceiling. The sky’s the limit. (literally)

DT…There is disciplined, honest Republicans…there is disciplined, honest Democrats, Liberals, Independents, etal, and then there is the most questionable of them all, Ron Paul. All of Ron Paul’s organizations operate as nonprofits under 501(c)(4) Internal Revenue Code. This code prohibits non-profits from being “social welfare organizations,” which means they are not supposed to engage in political action or promote candidates. Ron Paul has become a millionaire several times over, while serving in Congress, but he doesn’t invest in United States companies. Since 2002, the bulk of his investments have been in Canadian mining firms and South African gold. The debt can have a ceiling and did in 2000. Who can forget William Jefferson Clinton? With all his flaws, he accomplished that one. I am not trying to antagonize you…I am just saying that all is not lost. As long as we vote the rascals in, WE are responsible for the mess.